New pet food composition and method

ABSTRACT

A canine pet food composition comprising a meat based material having an essentially solid mass assuming the shape of the container in which it is packed, said pet food having meat particles with a moisturized appearance and visually recognizable discrete food particles upon slicing the pet food mass after departure from the said container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Pets have been fed “dry” and “wet” diets for many years. “Wet”diets are generally packaged in a can-like container. They are “wet” inappearance because of the moisture therein. Generally two types of wetdiets are presently prepared. One is usually referred to in the industryas ground loaf. This is generally prepared by contacting all the keycomponents such as the meat and grain together with water and thenheating and mixing together in a series of apparatuses, a singleapparatus, or one apparatus, such as a thermal screw cooker/mixer. Inthis manner all of the major components as well as the minor componentssuch as colorants, oils, vitamins, and vitamin-like materials arecombined at an early preprocessing step and all processed together.Following this procedure an essentially homogeneous, intracellularhoneycomb-type (hence “ground loaf”) mass is produced which is readilypackaged into a cylindrical container. A second wet diet is generallyreferred to in the industry as “chunk and gravy”. This wet diet isusually produced by grinding meat, mixing, emulsifying, and then mixingthe meat further with water, oil and grains and other materials ifdesired. This mixture is then fed into a cooking apparatus, emittedtherefrom, cut, cooled and then sent for various stage fills. Usually ina two-stage fill, a gravy is added to the chunk. The gravy is preparedin the usual manner, for example, by mixing grains, starches, water,vitamins, if desired, and other materials into a mixing tank wherein itis heated and then fed to the container holding the chunky materials. Asopposed to the ground loaf, this diet has physically separated, discretechunks-pieces-of the ground meat and grains as prepared. These discreteparticles are present in the gravy-type liquid in the final container.The product produced by “chunks and gravy” process has been used in petfood for many years.

[0002] As opposed to these standard forms of wet diet, a newcomposition, which can be potentially described as a hybrid of the twodistinct physical forms of ground load and chunk/gravy, has now beendiscovered and is specifically designed for canines. The new physicalform is prepared by a process which utilizes two distinct sub processes;a thermal process to preserve the physical and to an extent the chemicalintegrity of the meat component and a modified-gravy making process tobind the meat mix and the grain mix so as to enhance a “hearty-ground”appearance which has visually recognizable discrete meat particleswithin the essentially homogeneous mass of the finished product. Thisnew process can result in substantial cost reduction in capitalinvestment for machinery as well as labor. This process and novel“chili” composition is extremely difficult to achieve for a canineproduct because of the lower quantity of meat present in its diet incomparison to a feline, for example, 20-35% in canine and 40-70 wt. % infeline. The difference is made up in additional grains which furtheraccentuates the difficulty in achieving this visibly distinct caninediet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] In accordance with the invention, there is a canine pet foodcomposition comprising a meat based material having an essentially solidmass assuming the shape of the container in which it is packed, said petfood composition having visually recognizable discrete meat particleswith a moisturized appearance upon slicing the pet food mass afterdeparture from the said container.

[0004] A further aspect of the invention is a meat and grain basedcanine pet food composition, which visually is a hybrid between a groundloaf and chunk and gravy prepared by a process comprising

[0005] (a) heating the meat portion of the composition to a temperatureat or below the denaturation point of the meat portion,

[0006] (b) separately from the meat portion, and portion (c) mixinggrain or a mixture of grains together with water to an elevatedtemperature that will achieve or essentially achieve hydration,gelatinization and retrogradation of the grain or mixture of grains, andbreakdown or essentially breakdown complex carbohydrate to simplercarbohydrate;

[0007] (c) separately from the meat portion (a) and grain (b) preparinga viscosity building fluid or slurry which when combined together withcomponents (a) and (b) forms at least an essentially homogeneous massduring a container filling process, and (d) combining and mixing (a),(b) and (c) while maintaining temperature of combined mass.

[0008] A still further aspect of the invention is a process forpreparing meat and grain based composition canine pet food, whichcomprises

[0009] (a) heating the meat portion of the composition to a temperatureat or below the denaturation point of the meat portion,

[0010] (b) separately from the meat portion, and portion (c) mixinggrain or mixture of grains together with water to an elevatedtemperature that will achieve or essentially achieve hydration,gelatinization and retrogradation or mixture of grains, and breakdown oressentially breakdown complex carbohydrate to simpler carbohydrate,

[0011] (c) separately from the meat portion (a) and grain (b) preparinga viscosity building fluid or slurry which when combined together withcomponents (a) and (b) forms at least an essentially homogeneous massduring a container filling process, and

[0012] (d) combining (a), (b), and (c) while maintaining temperature ofcombined mass.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1: Prior art ground loaf process

[0014]FIG. 2: Prior art chunk and gravy process

[0015]FIG. 3: Invention “thermal set” process

[0016]FIG. 4: Photograph of diet produced by invention process

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Traditionally, containerized pet food such as canned pet food isdivided into two categories: chunk and gravy type products and groundloaf product.

[0018] The chunk and gravy product comprises a preformed meat particleprepared by making a meat emulsion which is extruded and formed byphysical pressure or thermal energy such as cooking with steam, cookingin water, oven dry heat and the like. A product, cooked meat, is dicedinto chunks, which are eventually mixed with a gravy or sauce. The twocomponents are then filled into a container, usually a can, seamed andsterilized.

[0019] A ground loaf product is generally prepared by mixing the variouscomponents, for example, meats, grains, vitamins, minerals and water,usually by steam and added water. The solid components are previouslyground together. The total meat, grain, water and other componentmixture is then heated to a low temperature of 6° F. or to a higherrange of 180-200° F. depending upon the specific components. Theproducts are filled in the cans, seamed and retorted for sterility. Thefinished product generally has a moisture range of about 65% to about85%. These ground loaf products can be made on a batch to batch basis ora continuous process in which the three major components, meats, grainsand water are continuously added and mixed together in a thermal screwcooker/mixer. During this process, and particularly at this stage,everything is treated as a single ingredient regardless of the physicalor chemical characteristic of the individual ingredient, component andthe formulation. Examples of such physical and chemical properties areboiling point difference, gelatinization temperature of grain-types,protein denaturation temperature of the various meats, and the like. Asa result of such processing, there is a wide range of texturaldifferences in terms of softness and firmness, stickiness and mushinessand other easily evaluated parameters of the final composition, whichoccur from batch to batch and composition to composition.

[0020] Therefore, it is an advantage of this invention that variouscomponents in the formulation, particularly the components such as meatand grains, are processed to bring out their optimal physical andchemical characteristics for presence in the final composition. Thisgives a more consistent and controllable product.

[0021] Still further the processing of the invention brings about afinal product which has a better texture, is firmer and /or less sticky.This inventive process increases the chemical and physical functionalityof each component in the formulation. Each one has a tendency tomaintain its own discreteness and integrity.

[0022] As mentioned previously, the normal ground loaf process mixes allcomponents and then heats it to an approximate temperature range ofabout 180° F. to 200° F. for canine products. In this new process themeat components are “thermally set” at and/or below temperatures ofprotein denaturation of the mixture and heated essentially bythemselves, that is, with the essential or total absence of grains,additional water, vitamins, minerals, and the like. This heating processgenerally improves the texture of the meats by inactivating thebacterial and tissue enzyme processes, it is believed, thereby providinga final pet food composition which is friable, that is, breaks understress. The temperature treatment is such that a slight coagulation ofthe protein occurs which contributes to the moisturized appearance ofthe protein in the final product.

[0023] The grains may also be treated separately and then added to thepreviously “thermally set” meat. The grains are mixed and cooked at atemperature range which will achieve or essentially achieve hydration,gelatinization, and retrogradation so as to improve their binding to themeats and/or reduce the stickiness or increase the firmness of thefinished product texture. Additionally, complex carbohydrate is brokendown to simpler carbohydrate. An Elevated temperature is needed toaccomplish these properties. Basically, temperatures up to 180-200° F.but desirably not exceeding 180-185° F. can be employed.

[0024] Finally, various “gravy” type components are made by heating suchas native starches, water and the like to prepare a viscosity buildingslurry or fluid. The purpose of such preparation is to increase thecohesiveness of the two components (a) and (b) so as to maintain anessentially or totally homogenous mass during the filling process intothe container.

[0025] With respect to the meats, “thermal setting” is achieved byheating the meat components to, or directly below, the temperature ofdenaturation of the meat protein. This generally ranges from about 120°0F. to 125° F. for fish protein to about 180° F. or higher for skeletalmuscle protein of cattle. Lying somewhere in between this range are thedenaturation temperatures of muscles from chicken and pigs. If there isa combination of such meats, the temperature of heating is at or belowthe denaturation temperature of the mixture. This can be fairlyascertained by the texture and/or the color of the mixture.

[0026] With respect to grains, grain when exposed to thermal treatmentwith added water will go through processes including hydration,gelatinization and retrogradation. Additionally, at the elevatedtemperature, breakdown of complex carbohydrate to simpler carbohydrateis achieved. By properly balancing carbohydrate sources, one can obtainthe proper stickiness or binding for maintaining certain textures asdesired. For example, short chain polysaccharides tend to be sticky andgluey and longer chain polysaccharides are less sticky and gluey thanthe shorter chain. Generally, simple sugars such as sucrose and glucoseare capable of “binding” which is detrimental if one desires a friabletexture of the finished product of this invention. Basically the desiredtexture of this hybrid diet is achieved by longer chain polysaccharideand starches, such as native or non-chemically modified starches suchmodifications by heat and/or pressure. Examples of grains which can beemployed are the standard or natural, chemically non-modified materialssuch as cornstarch, potato starch, cellulose and rice starch. Exemplaryof these natural starches are National Starch 150, a natural cornstarch, and natural potato starch. Heat and/or pressure treatedmaterials can also be employed such as Novation 1600 a heat and pressuretreated potato starch available from National Starch, Novation 2700 aheat and pressure treated corn starch also available from NationalStarch and heat and pressure treated rice starch such as Remy DR. Thesenatural and heat and/or pressure treated grains have the furtheradvantage in maintaining proper gastrointestinal tract balance and goodoverall stool quality.

[0027] The gravy type components of “c” of the invention include nativestarch such as National Starch 150 and various non-chemically andchemically modified starches such as dextrin. These materials includeNovation 1600, a potato starch; Novation 2300, a corn starch, and RemyDR, a rice starch.

[0028] By utilizing appropriate carbohydrate sources, one can obtain theproper stickiness or binding which helps provide the desirable friabletexture in the finished canine product.

[0029] The components are heated with water to about 180-200° F. toprovide a viscosity buildup slurry or fluid so as to maintain anessentially or totally homogeneous mass during the filling process whilepost retorting (after filling) these material(s) will retrograde todeliver the desired characteristics such as friable texture in the finalpackaged canine diet when opened for consumption.

[0030] Below are descriptions of the two prior art processes and theinventive process of this disclosure. In this manner the differences areeasily ascertained.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] The prior art ground loaf process is generally carried out in theart as described in FIG. 1. Meats are reduced in size in an extructer 1,and transferred through line 2 to a grinder 3. The ground meats aretransferred through a line 4 to a cooker/mixer 5 where the meat slurryis cooked. The cooked slurry is fed through line 6 to a thermal screwcooker/mixer 13. The grains used in the ground loaf diet are mixed in amixer 7 and transferred through line 8 to a shear mixer 9 where they aresheared together with water from container 11, fed via line 12 and 14 tothe shear mixer 9. The contents of the shear mixer are then transferredto the thermal screw cooker/mixer 13 through line 10. Additional watercan be transferred through lines 12 and 16 to the thermal screwcooker/mixer, 13. Steam 26, is then added through 27 to the thermalscrew cooker/mixer where necessary and the ground loaf diet is heatedand mixed through the shear of the screw cooker mixer to the usualtemperature for diets. Generally, for a canine diet this temperature isabout 180-200° F. Also present in the thermal screw cooker mixer 13, arevarious small quantities of additives such as iron oxide, carnitine,oil, and liquid flavors transferred through line 15. The properly cookedmixed and extructed canine diet is then transferred through line 16 toan emulsifier 17 or transferred through line 20 to a holding tank line21 wherein it is transferred to a filler 23 through line 22, whereinthey are filled through line 24 to the final container 25.

[0032] The chunk and gravy process is shown in FIG. 2. Meats are groundin a container, 30 and transferred through line 31 to a mixer, 32 andthen transferred to an emulsifier 34, through line 33. Afteremulsification, they are transferred to a second mixer, 36, through line35 where they are mixed with water transferred to the mixer through line38, oil transferred to the mixer through line 39, and grains transferredto the mixer through line 40. After thorough mixing, the total mixtureis transferred to a chunk forming apparatus, 41 through line 37. Theformed chunks are then transferred to a cooking tunnel, 43 through line42, where they are further cooked and then to an apparatus, 45, whichcuts and cools the formed diet through line 44. The diet is nowtransferred to a holding tank, 47 through line 46, and then transferredthrough line 48 to a first stage fill 49, where it is held. During thisprocess, the gravy system is prepared in a mixing tank 59, which is fedvitamins and other small quantities of various additives 52 through line55, water from 53 through line 56, and various gums and starchesutilized in the gravy system from 54 through line 57. In tank 58, theyare then thoroughly mixed with heat added through line 59 from a heatreservoir, 59 a, and then transferred to a holding tank, 62 through line60. Additional heat may be necessary in the holding tank and istransferred through line 61. The gravy system is now transferred to thesecond stage fill system, 51, through line 63. During this time, thechunk formulation is also transferred to the second stage fill, 51through line 50, which is the line coming from the first stage fill, 49.Within the second stage fill, the chunk diet is thoroughly coated andmixed with the gravy system. This mixture is then transferred to aseamer 65, through line 64.

[0033]FIG. 3 shows the inventive thermal set process of this disclosure.It is readily observed that the steps are significantly less and providea diet, which is substantially different in appearance than either thechunk in gravy or the ground loaf products. The meats are mixed in amixer, 75 and transferred through lines 76 to a cooker, 77. After beingcooked at a temperature at or below the denaturation point of the meatsor the mixture of meats, the mixture is transferred to a second mixer,82, through line 78. During this time period, the grains utilized in theformulation are mixed with various vitamins and minerals in container,80, and transferred through line 81 to the mixer 82. Also, during thistime, the non-chemically modified starches, natural starches, and/orcarbohydrates and water are mixed together in container 83, transferredto the cooker 85 through line 84, wherein they are cooked and thentransferred through line 86 to mixer 82, wherein all three componentsare mixed together at the prevailing temperature. Heat can be added tomaintain the prevailing temperature, if desired, but it is generally notnecessary nor desirable to go above about 180° F. This diet is thentransferred to filler 88, through line 87. In this manner, the diet ofthis disclosure is readily prepared.

[0034]FIG. 4 is a photograph of the diet of the invention showing theappearance of the diet.

[0035] In further description, a meat protein source, component (a), agrain mix with vitamin and mineral component (b), and non-chemicallymodified starch, natural starch and/or carbohydrate/water, component (c)are mixed together in a mixer to provide a mass having meat particleswith a moisturized appearance and visually recognizable discrete foodparticles when filled into a can.

[0036] A meat protein source is a meat mix either fresh or thawed outfrozen meat blocks such as meat or meat by-products. Meat materials canbe animal protein muscle or skeletal meats of mammals, fish, poultry ormeat by-products such as hearts, livers, lungs, tongues and the like.The meat protein source is generally ground through differentgrind-plates ranging from about x inch to about 1 inch, depending on thediscrete food particle size requirements in the finished product.

[0037] Generally, the meat preferably comprises about 15 to 25% proteinwith a moisture content range from about 55 to 75% by weight and the fatcontent about 5 to 15%.

[0038] The composite meat mix is mixed and heated in any suitablemixer/cooker. For example, a twin screw mixer, a twin ribbon mixer, anoverlapping paddle mixer, or a combination of the above mentionedfeatures such as screw/ribbon/paddle with live steam injection. Mixingis to ensure that the meat mix is homogeneously coagulated at or belowthe temperature of protein denaturation of the said meat protein source.This generally ranges from about 120° F. for fish protein to about 170°F. or higher for skeletal muscle protein of mammals (cattle and lamb).Lying somewhere in between this range are the denaturation temperaturesof muscles from chicken and pigs. If there is a combination of suchmeats, the temperature of heating is at or below the denaturationtemperature of the mixture.

[0039] In order to provide the recognizable discrete meat particles infinished product, the mixer/cooker provides sufficient mixing as well asgood temperature control during mixing and heating. An overheated meatprotein generally loses textural integrity, therefore losing discreteparticle appearance.

[0040] Grain mix with preferably added vitamin and mineral, component(b), can be a single grain, or a mixture of grains such as oat fiber,cellulose, peanut hull, beet pulp, parboiled rice, and corn gluten mealwith added salt, spices, seasonings, vitamins, minerals, flavorants,colorants, and the like. The amount of this additive mixture is at leastpartially dependent on the nutritional requirements for different lifestages of the animals based on Association of American Feed ControlOfficials regulations (AAFCO).

[0041] The temperature of heating during mixing ranges from about 150°F. to about 180° F. to achieve or essentially achieve hydration,gelatinization and/or retrogradation of grain/carbohydrate for certaindesired texture of diet. Complex carbohydrate is broken down to simplercarbohydrate.

[0042] Component (c) is generally comprised of materials as previouslynoted. These materials are selected to provide pre-processing (thick)viscosity for filling requirement when these 3 main components (a), (b),and (c) are mixed together in a mixer. The pre-processing viscosity isimportant in preventing component separation during filling the 3components as a single entity at the filler. Native or non-chemicallymodified starch has the characteristics of thick and thin, therefore, itis thick during filling, but viscosity will break down (thin) afterretorting to provide the recognizable discrete meat particles infinished product.

[0043] Component (c) comprising the non-chemically modified starch,natural starch, and/or carbohydrate with the presence of water whenexposed to thermal treatment will be hydrated, gelatinized andretrograded at temperatures up to 180 to200° F. By properly balancingcarbohydrate and/or the above starch sources, one can obtain the properstickiness or binding for maintaining certain textures as desired. Forexample, it is now understood that short chain polysaccharides tend tobe sticky and gluey and that long chain polysaccharides are less stickyand gluey than the shorter chains when processed. Generally speaking,shorter chain polysaccharide such as those obtained from ground wholewheat and corn are capable of “binding” with water to become sticky,which is detrimental if one desires a discrete particle texture infinished products. Examples of long chain polysaccharides are gums,cellulose and the like. This will provide less sticky, firmer finalproducts.

[0044] Components (a), (b) and (c) are mixed in any suitable mixerwithout any further heating. Maintenance of the temperature achieved inthe individual mixing steps, however, should be achieved. Allowing thetemperature to fall too far mitigates the temperature treatment of eachcomponent alone. They enter this mixer at the temperature at or slightlybelow that which they were each treated at prior to this mixingtogether. For mixing purposes, a twin screw mixer, a twin ribbon mixer,or an overlapping paddle mixer can be sufficient. The mixing should beenough to ensure that all 3 components are formed into a single entityfor filling.

[0045] Although not essential to the invention, the general wt % of thecomposition of the canine diet can be the following:

[0046] Meat—about 20 wt % to about 40 wt %, desirably about 25 wt % toabout 35 wt %;

[0047] Grain—about 8 wt % to about 16 wt %, desirably about 9 wt % toabout 13 wt %; and

[0048] Gravy—about 40 wt % to about 55 wt %, desirably about 45 wt % toabout 52 wt %.

[0049] The final mixture is filled into cans, which are then sealed andsterilized. In this case, the product produced a solid mass withrecognizable discrete meat particles with a moisturized appearance.

[0050] With respect to the general times of various heat treatment(s) inthe process of the invention, when preparing the meat component (a),incipient spoilage and too much coagulation should be avoided.Generally, heating is no more than about 15 to 20 minutes. Graincomponent (b) is generally preformed for canine diet, further heating isnot necessary. Starch slurry (c), heating is generally not more thanabout 2 hours, otherwise, product appearance can be negatively affected.

EXAMPLE 1

[0051] A meat mix comprising skeletal muscle from poultry or swine andits meat by-products is prepared using about 30% of the total weight offinished product. The resultant meat mix has moisture content of 73.12%,16.13% protein, and 9.00% fat. Such meat protein source is homogeneouslymixed and coagulated at 150 to 160 degree F. with live steam in aribbon/paddle mixer. The coagulated or thermally set meat componentpicks up about 5% steam condensate, therefore coagulated meat componentcomprises 34 to 35% of the total weight of finished product.

[0052] A grain mix comprising 4 wt. % parboiled rice and 7 wt. %cellulose at a total of 11 % of the total weight of finished productwith minerals and vitamin, colorant and flavor about 1% by weight offinished product is prepared.

[0053] A cooked starch slurry component is then prepared by mixingtogether 4% National 150 starch, 4% Novation starch 2300 and water/steammaking up the remainder (all percentage by weight of starch slurry. Thestarch slurry is then heated to 190 to 200 degree F. to develop a targetviscosity of 5 to 8 cm/30 seconds @ 180 degree F. (BotswickConsistometer).

[0054] Immediately after all 3 components are prepared separately asdescribed above, they are evenly blended in a regular mixer withoutfurther heating. The blending ratio of meat component, grain componentand starch slurry is 36:12:52 wt. %, respectively. The final mixture isfilled into cans, sealed and sterilized. The resultant product aftersterilization has a hearty ground texture appearance with visuallyrecognizable meat particles which neither resembles ground loaf norchunks and gravy products.

EXAMPLE 2

[0055] A meat mix comprising skeletal muscle from cattle, poultry, swineand its meat by-products is prepared using about 38% of the total weightof finished product. The resultant meat mix has moisture content of69.97%, 14.51% protein, and 13.60% fat. Such meat protein source ishomogeneously mixed and coagulated at 160 to 170 degree F. with livesteam in a ribbon/paddle mixer. The coagulated or thermally set meatcomponent picks up about 5% steam condensate. Therefore, the resultantcomponent comprises about 42 to 43% of the total weight of finishedproduct.

[0056] A grain mix comprising of 5 wt. % pearled barley and 4 wt. %cellulose at a total of 9% of the total weight of finished product withvitamin, minerals and colorant about 1.5% by weight of finished productis blended together.

[0057] A starch slurry is prepared by mixing together 5 wt. % National150 starch, 3 wt. % Remy DR rice starch, and water/steam making up theremainder (all percentage by weight of starch slurry). The starch slurryis then heated to 190 to 200 degree F. to develop a target viscosity of5 to 8 cm/30 seconds @ 180 degree F. (Botswick Consistometer) forfilling requirement.

[0058] Immediately after all three components are prepared separately asdescribed above, they are evenly blended into a regular mixer withoutfurther heating. The blending ratio of meat component, grain componentand starch slurry is 43:11:46 wt. %, respectively. The resultant productafter sterilization has a hearty ground texture appearance with visuallyrecognizable meat particles which neither resembles ground loaf orchunks and gravy products.

What is claimed is:
 1. A canine pet food composition comprising a meatbased material having an essentially solid mass assuming the shape ofthe container in which it is packed, said pet food having visuallyrecognizable discrete meat particles with a moisturized appearance uponslicing the pet food mass after departure from the said container. 2.The composition in accordance with claim 2 having about 20 wt % to about40 wt % meat.
 3. The composition in accordance with claim 3 having about25 wt % to about 35 wt % meat.
 4. A meat and grain based canine pet foodcomposition which visually is a hybrid between a ground loaf compositionand a chunk and gravy composition, said pet food composition prepared bya process comprising (a) heating the meat portion of the pet foodcomposition to a temperature at or below the denaturation point of themeat portion, (b) separately from the meat portion (a) and the fluid orslurry (c) mixing grain together or a mixture of grains together withwater that will achieve or essentially achieve hydration,gelatinization, and retrogradation of the grain or mixture of grains andconvert complex carbohydrate to simple carbohydrate (c) separately fromthe meat portion (a) and grains (b) preparing a viscosity building fluidor slurry which when combined into components (a) and (b) forms at leastan essentially homogenous mass during a container filling process and(d) combining (a), (b) and (c) and mixing while maintaining temperatureof combined mass.
 5. The composition in accordance with claim 4 whichcomponent (a) is heated to about 180° F. or higher for a diet havingskeletal muscle protein of cattle.
 6. The composition in accordance withclaim 4 which component (b) grain is selected from the group consistingof natural starch and heat and/or pressure treated grain or starch and amixture thereof.
 7. The composition in accordance with claim 4 whichcomponent (c) starch slurry is selected from non-chemically modifiedcornstarch; potato starch or rich starch; natural potato starch, naturalcorn starch or natural rice, and mixtures thereof.
 8. A process forpreparing a meat and grain based canine pet food composition whichcomprises (a) heating the meat portion of the pet food composition to atemperature at or below the denaturation point of the meat portion, (b)separately from the meat portion (a) and the fluid or slurry (c) mixinggrain or a mixture of grains together with water that will achieve oressentially achieve hydration, gelatinization, and retrogradation of thegrain or mixture of grains and conversion of complex carbohydrate tosimple carbohydrate (c) separately from the meat portion (a) and grains(b) preparing a viscosity building fluid or slurry which when combinedwith components (a) and (b) forms at least an essentially homogenousmass during a container filling process and (d) combining (a), (b) and(c) and mixing while maintaining temperatures of combined mass.
 9. Aprocess in accordance with claim 8 wherein component (a) is heated toabout 180° F. or higher for a diet having skeleton muscle protein ofcattle.
 10. A process in accordance with claim 8 wherein the component(b) grain is selected from the group consisting of natural starch and aheat and/or pressure treated grain or starch and a mixture thereof. 11.A process in accordance with claim 8 wherein component (c) starch isselected from non-chemically modified starch from potato, corn, rice ormixture thereof or a natural starch from potato, corn, rice or a mixturethereof; and mixtures thereof.